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WOW! Haven't heard this till now. Feds Want Input On Marijuana Reclassification

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/04/06/feds-want-input-on-marijuana-reclassification/#17417d2913e2

Tom Angell , CONTRIBUTOR
I cover the policy and politics of marijuana
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
The Trump administration is asking Americans for input on whether marijuana should be reclassified under international drug control treaties to which the U.S. is a party.

Currently, under both U.S. law and global agreements, marijuana sits in the most restrictive category of Schedule I. Domestically, that means it is not available for formal prescriptions and research on its effects is heavily restricted. Globally, it means that nations signed onto drug treaties are not supposed to legalize cannabis.

But now, the United Nations World Health Organization is set to launch a review of the current international classification of marijuana, THC, cannabidiol and other related compounds and preparations, and it wants input from member nations. In turn, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking "interested persons" to submit comments that can inform the country's position on the issue before it weighs in with the UN.

Specifically, FDA is inviting input on the "abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking and impact of scheduling changes on availability for medical use of" cannabis and its compounds, the agency wrote in a Federal Register notice scheduled to be published on Monday.

WHO's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence will meet in June to discuss marijuana's classification and will then make pre-review recommendations to the UN secretary-general about conducting a more in-depth analysis. Following that process, depending on the findings, cannabis could be rescheduled internationally, which would provide momentum to efforts to change marijuana's status under the laws of the U.S. and other countries.